Kozhikode declared complete ODF district

The district on Friday became the first in the State to declare itself open defecation free (ODF) in urban areas as well. Minister for Labour and Excise T.P. Ramakrishnan, who made the declaration, said Kozhikode was the first complete ODF district in the State with rural Kozhikode having been declared ODF on October 2, 2016.

Urban areas

Though Kerala had declared itself an ODF State on November 1, 2016, only rural areas had come under the declaration. Among urban areas, Kozhikode municipal corporation was the second in the State to declare itself ODF on October 31, 2016. With seven municipalities too fulfilling the condition, all households in the district now have toilets.

The District Suchitwa Mission has claimed that Kozhikode is the first district in south India to be declared complete ODF. “No other district in any south Indian State has declared its urban areas ODF,” said Suchitwa Mission programme manager Kripa Warrier.

The local bodies, with help from the Suchitwa Mission, constructed 15,654 toilets across the district. Of these, 2,855 were in urban areas, while 12,799 were in the rural belt. The Kozhikode Corporation constructed 1,503 toilets, while Vadakara and Ramanattukara municipalities constructed 235 and 100 respectively. Payyoli constructed 216 toilets, while Koduvally constructed 99. Feroke, Mukkam and Koyilandy municipalities constructed 85, 203 and 416 toilets respectively. The Quality Council of India (QCI) had verified the claim of the corporation and had issued a certificate that its claim was genuine. The other urban local bodies are yet to get the certificate.